Attitude is Everything!

I came across this today, and wanted to share.  It is by Keith Harrell, motivational speaker and author of Attitude is Everything.  I heard him speak at a Boy Scout Convention I attended with my hubby several years ago, and think he has some cool insight on people and attitudes.  Check him out! 

Aim to stay in focus
Take control of all negative thoughts.
Transform all challenges into opportunities.
Inspire someone with your faith today.
Team up with other winning people.
Understand your own uniqueness.
Dream to be more than you are.
Enthusiasm is essential for success; get off the sideline and get into the parade of life!

Have a "SUPER-FANTASTIC" DAY!  (as Keith would say!)

Thankful Thursday

It's Thankful Thursday! I've been a little slack with this lately, but it's time to get back to it!  We have been truly blessed this week, so I'm giving thanks for:

1.  Uncle Sam puttin' a nice chunk o'change back in our pocket! (YEA!)
2.  Finding time to move-it-move-it today! (quite an accomplishment!)
3.  A second financial blessing on it's way! (YIPPEE YEA!)
4.  My lil' Pookie Bear and Sweet Pea...even when they make me crazy.  Which is often.  Gotta love 'em!
5.  Speaking of #4, I'm thankful that God (and the hubs!) made me a Mom.  Here's an essay about motherhood that my friend Katie posted on her blog that I found so powerful (thanks for sharing, Katie!):

Mom 2.0:  Defining a Movement by Katherine Center
You are a miracle.

And I have to love you this fiercely: So that you can feel it even after you leave for school, or even while you are asleep, or even after your childhood becomes a memory.
You’ll forget all this when you grow up. But it’s okay.
Being a mother means having your heart broken.
And it means loving and losing and falling apart and coming back together.
And it’s the best there is. And also, sometimes, the worst.
Sometimes you won’t have anyone to talk to.
Sometimes you’ll wonder if you’ve forgotten who you are.
But you must remember this: What you’re doing matters.
And you have to be brave with your life so that others can be brave with theirs.
The truth is, being a woman is a gift. Tenderness is a gift. Intimacy is a gift. And nurturing the good in this world is a nothing short of a privilege.
That’s why I have to love you this way. So I can give what I have to you. So that you can carry it in your body and pass it on.
I have watched you sleep. I’ve kissed you a million times. And I know something that you don’t, yet:

You are writing the story of your only life every single minute of every day.And my greatest hope for you, sweet child, is that I can teach you how to write a good one.

Some Things I Love

In honor of  Valentine's Day, and inspired by a post Ree made over at The Pioneer Woman the other day, I wanted to list some things I really dig.  (Photo above of me and my hubby two months before we got married at a college dance!) 

I LOVE:

GOD

My hubby

My kids

French fries

The Sound of Music

My hubby’s tush  :-o

70’s & 80’s music

Thunderstorms

Mountains

Chocolate Chip ice cream

My kids’ laughter

Sunsets on a clear view of the horizon

Curled up with “Gone with the Wind” or “Little Women” (June Allyson version) on a cloudy/rainy/ snowy day

Wide open spaces

My iPhone

The smell of bread baking and popcorn (movie) popping

My long-lost DVR

My 2-year-old daughter's happy dance/'shimmy'

Just to name a few….

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!  Hug and Kiss your sweeties! 

The Countdown

The Countdown is on.  One month from today I turn the big 4-0.  I can't believe it!  It's been kind of freakin' me out.  How did I get here already?  I think I've just been too caught up in the past...in what I haven't done...what I don't have to show for my life...what I can't seem to 'get done' now.  But, this last week I've realized that it doesn't matter.  What's past is past - all I have is now.  So I need to start living in the moment, try my best and savor these days while my kids are little.  Because I know they won't be for long and I don't want to let that pass me by.  Same with the other 'stuff'...the weight issue, the time/being late issues, not being able to get things done stuff...just take it one day at a time, make some goals, and do the best I can.  That's all I can ask of myself! 

So, I'm trying not to be so afraid of 40.  It's just a  number, right?!  It's just the beginning!  It's a new decade, a new age group, and we're at a turning point personally/financially.  (I'm definitely ready for that!)   How exciting, right?!  That's what I'll be telling myself over the next month.  Repeatedly.  Remind me!

Here's a few passages I happen to have come across this week that relate:

"Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return." ~Mary Jean Iron

I found this quote on a new blog find:  One Ordinary Day at http://oneordinaryday.wordpress.com/ 

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."   Theodore Roosevelt 
 Found this one at http://makeitdo.wordpress.com/     Love it!

I'll be in touch how the countdown is going!

My Sunshine

Two years ago today a little more sunshine came streaming into my life, in the form of a cute little stinker named Hollie Jo.  What a blessing she's been!  She has such a sweet spirit about her and has always been a happy girl.  I've always called her my "Jolly Hollie".  (That was fun at Christmas - we have a singing snowman that sings a medley of Christmas songs that includes "Holly Jolly Christmas".  She played him over and over again...I think she thought that was 'her' song!)

Now don't get me wrong - she's a feisty one!  I fear she'll give her big brother a run for his money in the attitude department!  Not to mention give her Mom and Dad a few headaches.  But none-the-less, she's my sweet angel.  She always will be.  I'm sticking to it.  (Just remind me of that in 10 or 12 years!)